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Evening Notes: Blackhawks, Utah, Reichel

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Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks will return to Milwaukee for another pre-season game at the Fiserv Forum. The Blackhawks will take on the St. Louis Blues on October 5th, 2024, two years after Chicago first played at the home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.

Two years ago, the preseason game in Milwaukee sold out in just minutes and brought in over 15000 fans to watch the Blackhawks take on the Minnesota Wild. This time around the Blackhawks are hoping for more of the same from the passionate fanbase. The city of Milwaukee is currently home to the Milwaukee Admirals, who are the AHL affiliate for the NHL’s Nashville Predators and averaged over 6K fans a game this season.

In other evening notes:

  • TSN Insider Chris Johnston is reporting that Utah has plans to build a brand-new practice arena that will house two or more NHL-standard ice rinks. The team hopes that the new building will be completed prior to the 2025-26 season, and it will also be the team’s official office. The building will also be used for recreation activities as well as youth and amateur hockey. The team is currently in the process of finding a temporary training and practice facility for next season.
  • Former Winnipeg Jets forward Kristian Reichel has signed a three-year contract in Germany to play with Adler Mannheim (according to Derek O’Brien of The Hockey News). The move means that the 25-year-old will be leaving the Jets organization after spending the past six seasons with the team, primarily as a member of the Manitoba Moose. Reichel just completed his best professional season in the AHL, having registered 23 goals and 19 assists in 70 games. The son of Robert Reichel was undrafted but worked his way through the minors and eventually signed an ELC with the Jets in 2020 and made his NHL debut in 2021-22. He played in 15 NHL games over parts of two seasons, tallying a goal and two assists.

Blackhawks Reach TV Deal With Standard Media Group

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Like many other NHL teams, mostly those broadcasted on the Bally Sports-branded family of networks, the Blackhawks are changing their television home. Unlike others, they’re not divesting from the regional sports network model entirely. They, along with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and MLB’s Chicago White Sox, have reached a media rights deal with Standard Media Group to broadcast their games next season and beyond on a yet-to-be-named network, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers report.

The move succeeds NBC Sports Chicago as the Blackhawks’ TV home. Their contract is set to expire in October.

Per Lazerus and Powers, the unnamed network will have carriage agreements with both traditional cable providers as well as streaming options. Blackhawks fans within the Chicago media market had the option to stream games on the NBC Sports app if the channel was included in their cable package, but there was no separate streaming-only package offered. It’s unclear if that will change with the new agreement with Standard.

Previous reports indicated the Blackhawks’ next TV deal may have come in partnership with Stadium, a channel primarily broadcasting college sports of which Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Bulls and White Sox, is also the majority owner. That evidently will not be the case.

Other teams, namely the Coyotes and Golden Knights, stopped utilizing the RSN model entirely this season and opted to broadcast their games on over-the-air channels. Both clubs also provided additional streaming subscription options that could be purchased by in-market viewers who aren’t cable subscribers.

NHL Announces 2024 Calder Trophy Finalists

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Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, Wild defenseman Brock Faber and Devils defenseman Luke Hughes have been named finalists for this year’s Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s top rookie.

Bedard, still just 18, led or tied for the lead in rookie (and Blackhawks) scoring with 22 goals, 39 assists and 61 points despite being limited to 68 games with a broken jaw sustained midseason. He’s the the second-youngest rookie in NHL history to lead their team in all three major offensive categories behind Sidney Crosby, who did so with 39 goals, 63 assists and 102 points in 81 games with the Penguins in 2005-06. Last year’s first-overall pick also led rookies league-wide in shots on goal and takeaways.

While he’s the favorite to win the award, there likely won’t be a very large gap between him and Faber when the voting breakdown among PHWA members is released. The 2020 second-round pick of the Kings had his signing rights dealt to Minnesota in the Kevin Fiala trade a few years back, and he turned pro last spring after three seasons at the University of Minnesota. He immediately jumped into the NHL lineup and stabilized the Wild defense this year with captain Jared Spurgeon missing most of the season with various injuries, posting eight goals and 47 points while playing in all 82 games. Faber averaged 24:58 per game – the most among qualified rookies since the stat has been tracked (1997-98), beating out Atlanta’s Toby Enström by a full 30 seconds.

Those advocating for Faber to take home the award will point to Bedard’s -44 rating, which sat near the bottom of the league. Both players had difficult usage against other teams’ top competition, especially Faber. Yet, compared to their teammates, Bedard was better at controlling possession than Faber, posting a 0.2 relative CF% at even strength compared to Faber’s -3.4 CF% impact. In a team context, though, Faber was much better at dominating possession quality with a 50.6 xGF% compared to Bedard’s 42.3 xGF%, per Hockey Reference.

Hughes’ chance at the award is minimal compared to his peers, but the nomination still puts a bow on a nice rookie season for the younger brother of Jack and Quinn. With Dougie Hamilton missing most of the campaign, New Jersey relied on Hughes as their top puck-moving and power-play option on the blue line. He responded well, tying Faber’s offensive totals with 47 points (nine goals, 38 assists) while also playing in all 82 games, a rarity for a Devils team that struggled to stay healthy this season. He averaged 21:28 per game and controlled possession well at even strength with a 55.0 CF% and a 52.3 xGF%, with his -25 rating largely sunk by the team’s poor goaltending.

Offseason Checklist: Chicago Blackhawks

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Chicago.

The Blackhawks had a rough 2022-23 season but were big winners in the lottery, allowing them to get a franchise piece in Connor Bedard.  However, GM Kyle Davidson stayed the course with the end result being another rough season in the standings.  Regardless of whether the ping pong balls fall their way on May 7th, Chicago will need to focus more on the near-term future this summer compared to the long-term future.  Here’s what should be on their checklist in the coming months.

Start Building Up: Frankly, this could be the only item on their checklist this summer.  The Blackhawks have only made the playoffs once in the last seven years, really leaning into a longer-term rebuild under Davidson.  In that time, they’ve amassed a strong group of prospects that should form the nucleus of a long-term core.

But playing them all at the NHL level at once is a recipe for trouble.  It’s a mistake that other teams have made as well, not providing enough veteran support.  To his credit, Davidson attempted to hedge against that this past season with the additions of Taylor Hall, Corey Perry, and Nick Foligno, moves that had varying degrees of success.

Is the time right to throw caution to the wind and make some big splashes this summer?  Probably not.  But they can follow the path they took last summer, adding some shorter-term veterans to allow their core prospects to have ample time to develop properly.  Ideally, this wouldn’t just be with forwards this time around but also a quality veteran defender.

In his end-of-season presser, Davidson indicated that the Blackhawks need to start taking some steps forward in the win-loss column but was quick to indicate that he doesn’t want to take on some big contracts and lose long-term flexibility.  Accordingly, it would make sense to look to see if there’s another Hall-type trade available to take on a shorter-term deal while adding a future asset (for relieving the other team of a contract they can no longer afford).  Failing that, turning to free agency to add a handful of pieces to up the level of competitiveness will need to happen.

These moves, which likely will be the bulk of their offseason activity, won’t get them back into the playoffs but it would be a step toward playing more competitive games later into the season while allowing some prospects more time to develop in lower roles.  If they do that, they’ll be better off for it down the road.

Decide On Reichel’s Future: On the free agent front, most of the heavy lifting has been done.  The team re-signed several veterans in-season while Alex Vlasic inked a six-year contract earlier this week, taking their most prominent RFA off the table.

Among the ones that remain, Lukas Reichel stands out.  He has been viewed for a while now as one of the pieces of their long-term core.  A first-round pick in 2020 (17th overall), the Blackhawks were patient with him in his first two seasons in North America, giving him 50-plus games with AHL Rockford each time.  He was quite productive in those appearances, averaging just shy of a point per game.

However, NHL success has been harder to come by.  He impressed in a late-season stint in 2022-23, cementing a spot on Chicago’s roster to start this season.  However, Reichel struggled mightily in the NHL this season, notching just five goals and 11 assists in 65 games.  Along the way, that has caused some to wonder if he’s more of a trade chip over being part of their long-term plans.

It’s a question that Davidson and the Blackhawks will have to ponder as well.  It’s not a matter of signing him to a long-term deal like Vlasic, that’s clearly off the table.  It’s a given that he’s getting a short-term bridge contract.  But are they better off giving him another chance on what should be a deeper roster or moving him while his value should still be relatively high?  There are quite a few teams who would be willing to take a flyer on the idea that a change of scenery will get him going.

It might seem a bit early to have this thought but Reichel is waiver-eligible heading into next season so there’s no opportunity to have him playing big minutes with the IceHogs if he struggles out of the gate.  And if he has another season like this one in 2024-25, his value will drop considerably.  While Chicago can certainly kick this decision down the road, there’s some risk to doing so if they’re not convinced that Reichel can rebound.  Accordingly, this is something they’re likely to be deciding on, particularly closer to the draft in June.

To Tender Or Non-Tender: This time last year, to say that the Blackhawks would have any sort of thinking to do when it comes to tendering Taylor Raddysh would have seemed crazy.  After all, he was coming off a breakout year, notching 20 goals in his first full season with Chicago.  At a minimum, it looked like they had a capable middle-six winger on their hands and that he’d be heading for a nice raise for 2024-25.

But this season, things didn’t go as well.  He stayed in that middle-six role pretty much all season, even spending some time on the top line.  But this time, Raddysh scored just five goals and added only nine assists in 73 games.  A shooting percentage of 4.2% is certainly one that stands out as an outlier but that alone isn’t enough to say he can get back to his 2022-23 form.

The value of Raddysh’s qualifying offer itself isn’t an issue – it’s a little under $815K.  However, he’s arbitration-eligible this time around and that 20-goal campaign will be a factor.  If it goes to a hearing, it’s quite possible that he gets somewhere around the $2.25MM teammate Philipp Kurashev received from an arbitrator last year; more than that is a real possibility.  Is it worth giving him a one-year deal in that neighborhood to see if he can rebound?

Or, would they be better off using someone like Frank Nazar in that role for around 16 minutes a night?  Failing that, is that a lineup spot that could be earmarked for a veteran addition, one who can be a bit more of a contributor offensively?  But on the flip side, is walking away from a 26-year-old who’s one year removed from a 20-goal season the right course of action for a rebuilding team?  These are questions they’ll have to ponder before the tender deadline two months from now.

Add A Veteran Goalie: This is something that don’t necessarily have to do but they could certainly benefit from doing so.  Yes, Petr Mrazek made a career-high 53 starts this past season but he also has a long track record of injuries.  Meanwhile, backup Arvid Soderblom’s first full NHL campaign was one to forget.  He’s young enough to still be a part of their future plans if he can turn things around though so they’re probably not inclined to walk away from him now.

However, it would be beneficial to perhaps add some competition for that backup spot or at least a capable option if Mrazek’s injury woes return.  We’ve seen some teams become open to the idea of carrying three goalies and perhaps the Blackhawks could be one of them.

There will be several free agent netminders who are in that ‘tweener’ area where they might not quite be full-time NHL material but would be strong starters in the minors, serving as capable depth.  The acquisition of a player like that would help allow Drew Commesso to keep playing big minutes with Rockford while working with a quality veteran.  If the veteran stays up with Chicago in a full-time third-string role, then there’s still a spot for Jaxson Stauber, another pending RFA, to stick around.

Between the four that are either signed or under club control, the Blackhawks have enough goalies that they don’t need to add another veteran to the mix.  However, when you factor in the player-specific circumstances, they could certainly stand to add one over the coming months.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blackhawks Re-Assign Gavin Hayes To AHL

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  • The Blackhawks have re-assigned prospect Gavin Hayes to the minors, per an announcement from their AHL affiliate in Rockford. The winger was a third-round pick in 2022 (66th overall) and split the season between OHL Flint and Soo, combining for 37 goals and 39 assists in 55 games along with 16 points in 11 postseason contests for the Greyhounds.  Hayes has already signed his entry-level deal and will now get a taste of professional hockey before playing there full-time next season.

Blackhawks Sign Alex Vlasic To Six-Year Extension

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11:10 a.m.: Per PuckPedia, Vlasic has a 10-team no-trade list in 2028-29 and 2029-30, the two seasons of the deal he’d otherwise be eligible for unrestricted free agency. The full breakdown of the contract is as follows:

2024-25: $1.5MM base salary + $4.5MM signing bonus
2025-26: $1.8MM base salary + $4MM signing bonus
2026-27: $4.3MM base salary
2027-28: $1.3MM base salary + $3MM signing bonus
2028-29: $1.6MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus
2029-30: $1.6MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus

10:04 a.m.: The Blackhawks have signed promising defenseman Alex Vlasic to a six-year extension with a $4.6MM cap hit, The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports Thursday. The deal, which will pay Vlasic $27.6MM in total, walks him to unrestricted free agency in 2030. The team later confirmed the terms of the deal as initially reported.

Vlasic, 23 in June, was the Blackhawks’ second-round pick in 2019 after they took Kirby Dach third overall. That year, he was the top shutdown defender for the USNTDP’s U-18 squad and was viewed as a consensus late first/early second-round choice. However, he fell a bit to Chicago at 43rd overall. He then embarked on a three-year stint at Boston University, where the 6’6″ blue-liner quietly continued to improve his shutdown game while managing four goals and 20 points in 82 games. His career +1 rating there wasn’t all that impressive, but BU was a rather middling program during his time there and never finished higher than fifth in the Hockey East conference.

The Chicago native turned pro with his hometown club after his junior season, inking a three-year entry-level contract in March 2022 that kicked in immediately. He played 15 games for the Hawks down the stretch, recording his first two NHL points (one goal, one assist) with a -2 rating while averaging 14:19 per game. His possession metrics were decent on a rebuilding club that won just twice in regulation in 20 games after he signed, posting a 44.0 CF% and 54.9 xGF% at even strength, per Hockey Reference. It wasn’t enough to earn him a full-time spot on their 2022-23 roster, playing in only six games last year, but he did post a +12 rating to lead all AHL Rockford defensemen, along with 19 points in 56 games.

He landed an opening night roster spot this season and never looked back. Vlasic operated in a number-one capacity for stretches of the season when Seth Jones was sidelined with injury, finishing second behind Jones in average time on ice (21:29). He put up two goals and 16 points in 76 games in his first full NHL season, adding on a very respectable -4 rating, 44.9 CF%, and 47.7 xGF% while playing shutdown matchups for one of the weakest rosters in the league. When he wasn’t controlling possession himself, he was competent at keeping the puck out of dangerous areas, leading the team with 148 blocks.

Vlasic will never be a point producer, but his linear development and strong showing this season in difficult minutes are exemplary hints that he can be a high-end, top-four complementary shutdown defender for years to come. There haven’t been any major road bumps in his development since his draft day. He navigated the obstacles of the COVID-19 pandemic quite well and hit his likely ceiling earlier than most defenders.

In getting Vlasic signed long-term early on, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson continues the recent trend of early long-term commitments to developing defenders. The Sabres’ Owen Power and the Senators’ Jake Sanderson both signed long-term deals after their first full NHL seasons in 2022-23, although they both had one year remaining on their entry-level deals at the time. Vlasic was headed for restricted free agency this summer. It’s an extremely comparable extension to another young Buffalo defender, 24-year-old shutdown man Mattias Samuelsson, who inked a seven-year, $30MM ($4.29MM AAV) agreement in October 2022.

Vlasic joins Jones as the only Blackhawks skaters signed past 2026. Their deals will expire simultaneously after the 2029-30 campaign. Before today’s news, Jones and veteran Connor Murphy were the only Chicago defenders signed to one-way contracts for next season. Vlasic and Jones are expected to reprise their role as Chicago’s top defense pairing in 2024-25.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Chicago Blackhawks Reassign Alex Pharand, Samuel Savoie

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With their regular season coming to an end against the Chicago Wolves this past Sunday, the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be receiving some solid reinforcements for the 2023-24 Calder Cup playoffs. In an announcement coming from the team, the Blackhawks have reassigned forward prospects Alex Pharand and Samuel Savoie to Rockford in preparation for the playoffs.

Pharand, who was selected with the 99th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, just wrapped up his third season with his hometown team, the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. In 68 games for the Wolves, Pharand scored 17 goals and 30 points in total, tied for 11th on the team in scoring. Although he is a strong skater and can create offensive opportunities with his deking ability, Pharand is more well known as a defensive forward with the ability to backcheck better than most of his peers.

Savoie, on the other hand, was a higher-drafted player compared to Pharand, going 81st overall to the Blackhawks in the 2022 NHL Draft. Carrying a higher-upside offensive potential, Savoie just completed his fourth season in the QMJHL and his first as a member of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Limited to only 21 games due to a broken femur suffered in Chicago’s training camp on September 30th, Savoie still managed to score 10 goals and 22 points in total.

With the IceHogs set to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Central Division Semifinals, each player will have an opportunity to make an impact at the AHL level. Nevertheless, even if the team is unable to make a deep run in the Calder Cup playoffs, it will be an invaluable experience for two prospects looking to aid the Blackhawks organization in their return to competitiveness.

Blackhawks Focused On Building Up The Roster

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  • Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson shared that it’s time for the team to build up, says Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Chicago finished second-last in the league this season, on the back of a forward group that looked desolate when it lost Connor Bedard and Taylor Hall to injury. Finding offensive support will likely be the focus of their building efforts, as the Hawks prepare to weaponize their $38MM projected cap space this summer.

Blackhawks Notes: Vlasic, Murphy, Blackwell

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The Chicago Blackhawks could ink rookie defenseman Alex Vlasic to a long-term deal this summer, shares Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Vlasic told Pope, “I want to be [in Chicago] as long as possible.” The 22-year-old defenseman is set to become a restricted free agent for the first time in his career this season, having played through his 2021 entry-level contract.

Vlasic was maybe the surprise of the season in Chicago, fighting his way up to top-pairing ice time early in the year and not relinquishing it. He would go on to record 16 points and 45 penalty minutes in 76 games, while averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time. He became the de facto partner for top defenseman Seth Jones – with the pairing recording over 850 even-strength minutes together, Chicago’s only pair to play even 400 minutes together.

Vlasic carved out a confident role and should be due a confident deal when he re-signs this summer. Pope compared Vlasic’s negotiations to K’Andre Miller and Mattias Samuelsson when trying to project what a new deal may look like. Both players pulled in a cap hit of around $4MM, though Miller signed a short-term bridge while Samuelsson received seven years. It’s likely Chicago leans on the side of longer term, with brighter days yet to come.

Other notes out of the Windy City:

  • Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy shared that the injury that held him out of the season finale wasn’t exactly a reinjury of his groin injury, but more of a “tweak”, per Pope (Twitter link). Murphy added that the injury will affect his off-season training plans, though he’s happy to have time off to get back to full health. Murphy played in just 46 games this season, recording eight points, 40 penalty minutes, and a -19. He served in a solid role, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time, though that may have been out of necessity more than desire for a Hawks blue-line that iced 12 different defensemen this season. Murphy will hope to regain health and hang onto his strong role in Chicago as he approaches his eighth season with the club next year.
  • Hawks forward Colin Blackwell shared that he would love to stay in Chicago, per NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis (Twitter link). Blackwell is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer – one of 19 free agents in Chicago’s system. He’s spent the last two seasons in Chicago, totaling 22 points in 97 games with the club. While meager scoring, Blackwell has served in a reliable bottom-six role and maintained his discipline, totaling just 16 penalty minutes over the last two seasons. He’ll likely return to a consistent fourth-line role if he signs a new deal with Chicago.

Blackhawks Notes: Johnson, Bedard, Kurashev, Captaincy

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The Chicago Blackhawks can expect to lose Tyler Johnson this summer, reports Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link), with the veteran forward instead hoping to sign with a playoff contender. Johnson told Pope, “I’m obviously thankful for being here, I’ve met a lot of good people, but it wasn’t exactly like I envisioned or wanted.”

Johnson’s Blackhawks career certainly hasn’t gone as the team may have expected either. He joined the Hawks ahead of the 2021-22 season, after years of filling a solid role, and routinely challenging 50 points, with the Tampa Bay Lightning. But as forewarned by his last two years in Tampa Bay, injuries have heavily limited Johnson’s career in Chicago. He’s missed 97 games over the last three seasons, including playing in just 26 games in 2021-22 due to a neck injury. Those absences have kept him from finding a true groove with the Blackhawks, scoring just 70 points in 149 games and never averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time. Chicago iced one of the youngest lineups in the league this season and seems bound to do much of the same next year, as they attempt to build a franchise around Connor Bedard. After years of injury issues and low scoring, it’s easy to see why the 33-year-old Johnson may prefer a more productive end to his career. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

Other notes out of Chicago:

  • Speaking of Bedard, he’s confirmed that he is headed to the World Championship with Team Canada, per The Athletic’s Scott Powers (Twitter link). This is hardly a surprise – Bedard has been a fixture of international hockey since he tied Connor McDavid’s record for U16 scoring (14 points) at the World U18 Championship in 2021. Bedard has officially totaled 21 points in 11 games with Canada’s U18 team and 31 points in 14 games with the U20 team. He’ll look to build on that phenomenal scoring this summer, now at the top level of international play.
  • Bedard’s linemate, Philipp Kurashev, will also be headed to the World Championship to play for Team Switzerland, shares Pope (Twitter link). Kurashev and Bedard quipped that their top goal will be to score on Petr Mrazek, who will suit up for Team Czechia. This will be Kurashev’s fourth consecutive season attending the World Championship, having totaled 13 points in 24 games over the last three tournaments.
  • Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson shared that the team isn’t yet sure if they’ll have a captain next season, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis (Twitter link), adding that it’ll be an off-season conversation with the coaches. The Hawks haven’t had a captain since Jonathan Toews’ career ended in the 2022-23 season, though they did have five different alternate captains last year. Whoever takes on the role will be setting history, becoming the first Blackhawks captain since a 20-year-old Toews took on the role in 2008. Toews’ 14-year tenure in the role makes him one of the longest-tenured captains in NHL history – a list led by Steve Yzerman’s 19 seasons leading the Detroit Red Wings.

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